Second, the economy is in the tank, so who has tons of money to spend on a costume?

You don’t need a fistful of dollars, or a lot of time, if you use makeup.

We asked makeup artist Eanna Holton of Lee’s Summit to show us how to create two looks: the face of Heath Ledger’s Joker from the mega-hit “The Dark Knight” — THE hottest costume this year — and a traditional skeleton face.

Holton, 25, knows a thing, or two or three, about makeup. At just 19 she was creating the scary makeup for local haunted-house characters.

Now she and her husband, Brian, create professional special effects looks together as the Boots and Bullets Design Team.

Here’s some of her Halloween magic.

MAKEUP KIT

Here’s what local makeup artist Eanna Holton used to create our two Halloween faces and approximately how much you can expect to pay. You can find most of this stuff in the Halloween costume department, and drugstore and supermarket makeup aisles. (Holton buys rigid collodion at Kansas City Costume.)

•Makeup sponge and brush: $2 to $5

•White face makeup: $2 to $10

•Black eye pencil: $3

•Black cream makeup: $4

•Green spray-on hair color: $2

•Rigid collodion: $4 to $7

•Red lipstick: $2 and up

The JokerWhat to wear:

A colorful suit and tie from the thrift store.

Eanna says

: “The messier the better” on this face. “It’s not supposed to look like a professional makeup job. It’s supposed to look like it was done by a madman in a hurry.”

Step 1:

Make the Joker’s signature “smile scar.” Using a product called rigid collodion, draw an exaggerated, upward smile line, jagged and irregular, starting in each corner of the mouth.

Rigid collodion is a clear liquid used to create fake scars. It works by drying and tightening the skin where applied. Our model said it stung his skin a little but was tolerable. Be sure to test a small area other than your face to make sure you can tolerate it. It peels off easily for removal. You can apply the product as thick as 10 layers to give the wound more dimension.

Step 2:

With a makeup sponge, smooth white face makeup — also called clown makeup — over the face, leaving eyes, mouth and scar uncovered. Don’t be neat. Apply it in a haphazard, uneven way.

Step 3:

Using a fluffy brush and a soft touch, fill in the areas around the eyes with black cream makeup to create that “haven’t-slept-in-weeks” look. You can use your fingers instead of a brush. Remember, messy is best.

Step 4:

Scowl hard to make wrinkles appear on your forehead. Fill in some of the lines with a black eye pencil. Use a light touch; don’t draw them on too heavily. Use your fingers to smudge the lines if they look too harsh.

Step 5

: Use your fingers to smear red lipstick on your lips and on top of the scar line. The messier and smudgier, the better. Use an orange-red lipstick, rather than true red, like Ledger wore in the movie.

Step 6: Turn your hair green with spray-on hair coloring. The coloring sticks better to dirty hair. On very light hair you might have to also use a darker green spray to add dimension.